How do I help employees align their personal values with company goals?

This question comes up often — especially from well-meaning leaders who want to foster engagement and build a values-driven culture. But here’s the catch: Alignment doesn’t mean assimilation. It’s not about employees surrendering their values for the company’s mission but integrating with them — it’s about connection, not conformity.

My wake-up call came in year three of my first leadership role.

I had just finished onboarding a sharp, young team member whose values lit up in every conversation: equity, creativity, autonomy. He was a force. But within six months, his spark dimmed. He didn’t feel seen. His ideas were “saved for later,” and he couldn’t find himself in the work we were doing.

In my performance review with him, he said something I’ll never forget:

“I’m not sure where my values live in this place. It’s like I have to check part of myself at the door.”

That hit me hard — because I had been on the team that built our values from scratch. I thought we were leading with integrity. But I realized then: if values only live on a wall or in a mission statement, they’re dead. They need to live in how we make decisions, how we treat people, and how we invite their whole selves to the table.

Since then, it's a daily discipline - making choices all day that are attuned to the values I hold. I've learned that if I can live by my values sometimes but not when it doesn't suit me, they aren't values, they're rationalizations.

Here are a few of the lesson my values have taught me. I'd love to hear what resonates with you.

Five Ways to Align Personal Values with Company Goals

1. Start with listening.

   Don’t assume you know what people care about. Ask. Run values discovery sessions, 1:1 check-ins, or team huddles where people can share what drives them — beyond performance metrics.

   
   

   #ActiveListening #EmpathyInLeadership

2. Make space for stories.

   Encourage team members to share moments when they’ve felt most aligned — or most dissonant — with the company mission. These stories reveal gaps and opportunities.

   
   

   #StorytellingCulture #PsychologicalSafety

3. Revisit the 'why' of company goals.

   Don’t just push top-down targets. Connect goals to real human impact and invite employees to co-author the strategy that gets you there.

   
   

   #PurposeDrivenWork #CollaborativeLeadership

4. Celebrate diverse values as strengths.

   You don’t need 100% overlap. You need resonance. Create room for employees to express their values and show how those can uniquely support the company’s evolution.

   
   

   #InclusionMatters #WholePersonLeadership

5. Walk your values talk.

   Nothing builds alignment faster than modeling integrity. When leaders make hard decisions that reflect the organization’s stated values — employees notice.

   
   

   #IntegrityInAction #LeadByExample

Want to build a workplace where values alignment isn’t a buzzword but a daily practice? Start by asking your team what matters most to them. I’d love to hear how that conversation goes — or help you facilitate it.

DM me or book a strategy call to explore how to integrate values-based leadership in your organization.

#LeadershipDevelopment #ValuesAlignment #TransformationalLeadership #CultureChange #InstituteforUNLearning